Evidence by transmission electron microscopy of weathering microsystems in soils developed from crystalline rocks

Clay Minerals ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Romero ◽  
M. Robert ◽  
F. Elsass ◽  
C. Garcia

AbstractHigh-resolution electron microscopy and microanalytical studies were performed on clay and bulk soil samples developed on various igneous and metamorphic rocks from Galicia in the Coruna province in NW Spain. Two mineralogical microsystems can be distinguished showing different stages of weathering. For feldspars, exsolution and mass transformation lead to the delineation of parallel domains, and to formation of gel or paracrystalline minerals. For micas, alteration starts with a physical breakdown, i.e. exfoliation and crystal microdivision; individualization of monolayers is followed by gel formation. A solid phase diffusion phenomenon can explain the formation of 1 : 1 phyllosilicates inside 2 : 1 phyllosilicates or within the continuum of the original crystals. Evidence of such weathering stages in crystalline rocks can be related to the occurrence of specific climatic conditions between temperate and tropical areas.


1986 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Parker ◽  
R. Sinclair

In situ kinetic measurements on the rate of solid—phase epitaxial regrowth of silicon in a conventional transmission electron microscope are described. The data compare well with those established for the sane material by high voltage electron microscopy and by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. High—resolution imaging at the same time provides direct information on atomic mechanisms. It is anticipated that this will beccme a more highly developed procedure in due course, especially for studies of interface reactions.



Author(s):  
K. J. Morrissey

Grain boundaries and interfaces play an important role in determining both physical and mechanical properties of polycrystalline materials. To understand how the structure of interfaces can be controlled to optimize properties, it is necessary to understand and be able to predict their crystal chemistry. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), analytical electron microscopy (AEM,), and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) are essential tools for the characterization of the different types of interfaces which exist in ceramic systems. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate some specific areas in which understanding interface structure is important. Interfaces in sintered bodies, materials produced through phase transformation and electronic packaging are discussed.



Author(s):  
Jan-Olle Malm ◽  
Jan-Olov Bovin

Understanding of catalytic processes requires detailed knowledge of the catalyst. As heterogeneous catalysis is a surface phenomena the understanding of the atomic surface structure of both the active material and the support material is of utmost importance. This work is a high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) study of different phases found in a used automobile catalytic converter.The high resolution micrographs were obtained with a JEM-4000EX working with a structural resolution better than 0.17 nm and equipped with a Gatan 622 TV-camera with an image intensifier. Some work (e.g. EDS-analysis and diffraction) was done with a JEM-2000FX equipped with a Link AN10000 EDX spectrometer. The catalytic converter in this study has been used under normal driving conditions for several years and has also been poisoned by using leaded fuel. To prepare the sample, parts of the monolith were crushed, dispersed in methanol and a drop of the dispersion was placed on the holey carbon grid.



1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Agrawal ◽  
J. Cizeron ◽  
V.L. Colvin

In this work, the high-temperature behavior of nanocrystalline TiO2 is studied using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These nanoparticles are made using wet chemical techniques that generate the anatase phase of TiO2 with average grain sizes of 6 nm. X-ray diffraction studies of nanophase TiO2 indicate the material undergoes a solid-solid phase transformation to the stable rutile phase between 600° and 900°C. This phase transition is not observed in the TEM samples, which remain anatase up to temperatures as high as 1000°C. Above 1000°C, nanoparticles become mobile on the amorphous carbon grid and by 1300°C, all anatase diffraction is lost and larger (50 nm) single crystals of a new phase are present. This new phase is identified as TiC both from high-resolution electron microscopy after heat treatment and electron diffraction collected during in situ heating experiments. Video images of the particle motion in situ show the nanoparticles diffusing and interacting with the underlying grid material as the reaction from TiO2 to TiC proceeds.



2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 2189-2191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo-Dong Zhan ◽  
Mamoru Mitomo ◽  
Young-Wook Kim ◽  
Rong-Jun Xie ◽  
Amiya K Mukherjee

Using a pure α–SiC starting powder and an oxynitride glass composition from the Y–Mg–Si–Al–O–N system as a sintering additive, a powder mixture was hot-pressed at 1850 °C for 1 h under a pressure of 20 MPa and further annealed at 2000 °C for 4 h in a nitrogen atmosphere of 0.1 MPa. High-resolution electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction studies confirmed that a small amount of β–SiC was observed in the liquid-phase-sintered α–SiC with this oxynitride glass, indicating stability of β–SiC even at high annealing temperature, due to the nitrogen-containing liquid phase.



1999 ◽  
Vol 571 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. D. Zakharov ◽  
P. Werner ◽  
V. M. Ustinov ◽  
A.R. Kovsh ◽  
G. E. Cirlin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTQuantum dot structures containing 2 and 7 layers of small coherent InAs clusters embedded into a Si single crystal matrix were grown by MBE. The structure of these clusters was investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The crystallographic quality of the structure severely depends on the substrate temperature, growth sequence, and the geometrical parameters of the sample. The investigation demonstrates that Si can incorporate a limited volume of InAs in a form of small coherent clusters about 3 nm in diameter. If the deposited InAs layer exceeds a critical thickness, large dislocated InAs precipitates are formed during Si overgrowth accumulating the excess of InAs.



1980 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando A. Ponce

ABSTRACTThe structure of the silicon-sapphire interface of CVD silicon on a (1102) sapphire substrate has been studied in crøss section by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Multibeam images of the interface region have been obtained where both the silicon and sapphire lattices are directly resolved. The interface is observed to be planar and abrupt to the instrument resolution limit of 3 Å. No interfacial phase is evident. Defects are inhomogeneously distributed at the interface: relatively defect-free regions are observed in the silicon layer in addition to regions with high concentration of defects.



1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 673-674
Author(s):  
M. Rühle ◽  
T. Wagner ◽  
S. Bernath ◽  
J. Plitzko ◽  
C. Scheu ◽  
...  

Heterophase boundaries play an important role in advanced materials since those materials often comprise different components. The properties of the materials depend strongly on the properties of the interface between the components. Thus, it is important to investigate the stability of the microstructure with respect to annealing at elevated temperatures. In this paper results will be presented on the structure and composition of the interfaces between Cu and (α -Al2O3. The interfaces were processed either by growing a thin Cu overlayer on α- Al2O3 in a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system or by diffusion bonding bulk crystals of the two constituents in an UHV chamber. To improve the adhesion of Cu to α -Al2O3 ultrathin Ti interlayers were deposited between Cu and α - Al2O3.Interfaces were characterized by different transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Quantitative high-resolution electron microscopy (QHRTEM) allows the determination of the structure (coordinates of atoms) while analytical electron microscopy (AEM) allows the determination of the composition with high spatial resolution.



1998 ◽  
Vol 553 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Lück ◽  
M. Scheffer ◽  
T. Gödecke ◽  
S. Ritschj ◽  
C. Beelif

AbstractAn extensive investigation into the At-AICo-AlNi ternary subsystem is presented. Observations have used the techniques of differential thermal analysis, magnetothermal analysis, dilatometry, metallography, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution electron microscopy. Representative graphic documentation, as liquidus projection surface, isothermal sections, temperature-concentration section, and reaction scheme are presented. 11 phases from the binaries Al-Co and Al-Ni and the three ternary phases Y2 (Co2NiAl9), X and the decagonal phase D were found at room temperature. The decagonal phase is formed from the melt peritectically via a critical tie line and its primary formation area dominates at the liquidus projection surface. 45 three-phase regions are present according to the reaction scheme.Several phase variants in the area of the decagonal phase were detected by transmission electron microscopy. Phase fields of the variants were determined from samples quenched from their respective temperatures. In-situ experiments on transformations of variants were performed by dilatometric measurements. The subdivision of the D phase area into the fields of the variants is discussed.



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